Headlines
- Mental Illness Suspect Genes Found To Be Among The Most Environmentally Responsive By NIH Study
For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub... - Hyperconnectivity In Brain's Hearing Center Caused By Gene Mutation In Autism
New research from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) might help explain how a gene mutation found in some autistic individuals leads to difficulties in processing auditory cues and paying spatial attention to sound... - Britain's First Adult Autism Survey Reveals Previously 'Invisible' Group With Autism
New research on autism in adults has shown that adults with a more severe learning disability have a greater likelihood of having autism. This group, mostly living in private households, was previously 'invisible' in estimates of autism... - Evolved, Mutated Gene Module Linked To Syndromic Autism
A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that newly discovered mutations in an evolved assembly of genes cause Joubert syndrome, a form of syndromic autism. The findings are published in the online issue of Science Express...
- Melatonin in autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
(Source: Child: Care, Health and Development) - Science News » Gene Regulator in Brain’s Executive Hub Tracked Across Lifespan – NIH study
For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain’s executive hub. Among key findings of the study by National Institutes of Health scientists: genes implicated in schizophrenia and autism turn out to be members of a select club of genes in which regulatory activity peaks during an environmentally-sensitive critical period in development. (Source: National Institute of Mental Health) - Environment affects mental illness genes
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Genes linked to schizophrenia and autism are members of a select club of genes regulated during environmentally sensitive times, U.S. researchers said. (Source: Health News - UPI.com) - The Mind Behind the Message: Advancing Theory‐of‐Mind Scales for Typically Developing Children, and Those With Deafness, Autism, or Asperger Syndrome
Children aged 3–12 years (n = 184) with typical development, deafness, autism, or Asperger syndrome took a series of theory‐of‐mind (ToM) tasks to confirm and extend previous developmental scaling evidence. A new sarcasm task, in the format of H. M. Wellman and D. Liu’s (2004) 5‐step ToM Scale, added a statistically reliable 6th step to the scale for all diagnostic groups. A key previous finding, divergence in task sequencing for children with autism, was confirmed. Comparisons among diagnostic groups, controlling age, and language ability, showed that typical developers mastered the 6 ToM steps ahead of each of the 3 disabled groups, with implications for ToM theories. The final (sarcasm) task challenged even nondisabled 9‐year‐olds, demonstrating the new scale’s sen...
- Mental Illness Suspect Genes Found To Be Among The Most Environmentally Responsive By NIH Study
For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub... - Melatonin in autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
(Source: Child: Care, Health and Development) - Science News » Gene Regulator in Brain’s Executive Hub Tracked Across Lifespan – NIH study
For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain’s executive hub. Among key findings of the study by National Institutes of Health scientists: genes implicated in schizophrenia and autism turn out to be members of a select club of genes in which regulatory activity peaks during an environmentally-sensitive critical period in development. (Source: National Institute of Mental Health) - Environment affects mental illness genes
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Genes linked to schizophrenia and autism are members of a select club of genes regulated during environmentally sensitive times, U.S. researchers said. (Source: Health News - UPI.com)
- Disordered Porphyrin Metabolism: A Potential Biological Marker for Autism Risk Assessment
Autism (AUT) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that, together with Asperger's syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), comprises the expanded classification of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The heterogeneity of ASD underlies the need to identify biomarkers or clinical features that can be employed to identify meaningful subtypes of ASD, define specific etiologies, and inform intervention and treatment options. Previous studies have shown that disordered porphyrin metabolism, manifested principally as significantly elevated urinary concentrations of pentacarboxyl (penta) and coproporphyrins, is commonly observed among some children with ASD. Here, we extend these observations by specifically evaluating penta and coproporphyrins as biological indicators of ASD among 76 male children comprising 30 with validated AUT, 14 with PDD-NOS, and 32 neurotypical (NT) controls. ASD children (AUT and PDD-NOS) had higher mean urinary penta (P?- Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Autism: Parental Report, Clinical Evaluation, and Associated Factors
The objectives of this study were to characterize gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to examine parental reports of GID relative to evaluations by pediatric gastroenterologists, and to explore factors associated with GID in ASD. One hundred twenty-one children were recruited into three groups: co-occurring ASD and GID, ASD without GID, and GID without ASD. A pediatric gastroenterologist evaluated both GID groups. Parents in all three groups completed questionnaires about their child's behavior and GI symptoms, and a dietary journal. Functional constipation was the most common type of GID in children with ASD (85.0%). Parental report of any GID was highly concordant with a clinical diagnosis of any GID (92.1%). Presence of GID in children with ASD was not associated with distinct dietary habits or medication status. Odds of constipation were associated with younger age, increased social impairment, and lack of expressive language (adjusted odds ratio in nonverbal children: 11.98, 95% confidence interval 2.54?56.57). This study validates parental concerns for GID in children with ASD, as parents were sensitive to the existence, although not necessarily the nature, of GID. The strong association between constipation and language impairment highlights the need for vigilance by health-care providers to detect and treat GID in children with ASD. Medications and diet, commonly thought to contribute to GID in ASD, were not associated with GID status. These findings are consistent with a hypothesis that GID in ASD represents pleiotropic expression of genetic risk factors. - Autism in adults
- Audiovisual speech integration in autism spectrum disorders: ERP evidence for atypicalities in lexical-semantic processing
In typically developing (TD) individuals, behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) studies suggest that audiovisual (AV) integration enables faster and more efficient processing of speech. However, little is known about AV speech processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study examined ERP responses to spoken words to elucidate the effects of visual speech (the lip movements accompanying a spoken word) on the range of auditory speech processing stages from sound onset detection to semantic integration. The study also included an AV condition, which paired spoken words with a dynamic scrambled face in order to highlight AV effects specific to visual speech. Fourteen adolescent boys with ASD (15?17 years old) and 14 age- and verbal IQ-matched TD boys participated. The ERP of the TD group showed a pattern and topography of AV interaction effects consistent with activity within the superior temporal plane, with two dissociable effects over frontocentral and centroparietal regions. The posterior effect (200?300?ms interval) was specifically sensitive to lip movements in TD boys, and no AV modulation was observed in this region for the ASD group. Moreover, the magnitude of the posterior AV effect to visual speech correlated inversely with ASD symptomatology. In addition, the ASD boys showed an unexpected effect (P2 time window) over the frontocentral region (pooled electrodes F3, Fz, F4, FC1, FC2, FC3, FC4), which was sensitive to scrambled face stimuli. These results suggest that the neural networks facilitating processing of spoken words by visual speech are altered in individuals with ASD. Autism Res2011,4:xxx?xxx. 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Research
- Lip reading
As babies are learning to talk, they shift their focus from speakers? eyes to their lips, according to a new study that could inform efforts to find an early predictor of autism. - Molecular mechanisms: Lithium treats fragile X in mice
Lithium alleviates the symptoms of fragile X syndrome in mice in part by normalizing protein synthesis in the brain, according to a study published 29 December in Neurobiology of Disease. - Diverse data networks point to driving force in diseases
A mathematical approach called ?NEW,? or network-enabled wisdom, aims to solve one of the biggest problems in disease research: isolating the key factors that drive diseases from a glut of information. - New machine takes rapid, reliable pictures of brains
An automated instrument can reconstruct fluorescently labeled mouse brains in less than a day, researchers reported 15 January in Nature Methods.
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